Monrovia – President George Weah has expressed concern over agitation in the government circle concerning “discrepancies” on the civil servant payroll while revealing plans to harmonize the situation.
According to the Presidential Press secretary, the Liberian leader is aware that financial management procedure in Liberia including regulation of government payroll should be straight forward.
Deputy Presidential Press Secretary Smith Toby told reporters that President Weah has seen the harmonization of civil servant payroll as an essential tool that would help regulate transparency in his government.
“Civil Servants involvement in government should be straight forward. Some people in their descriptive thinking were making more allowances and less in salaries and government is trying to harmonize it,” Toby told reporters in Monrovia.
“The president is concern about putting smiles on the faces of civil servants.”
He noted that civil servants’ salary harmonization is cardinal, but should not be considered a yardstick for politicians in the country to cast a “dark cloud” over the Weah’s administration.
According to him, the Liberian leader is eager to see those on government payroll satisfy and sees it germane to regulate civil servant payment.
“The president concern is to see people satisfy and not to be agitating about salary because people in our political space have hung a dark cloud over the issues of civil servant salary,” Mr. Toby noted.
He said President Weah has begun holding meetings with a team of financial experts in order to implement his plan.
Toby said managing civil servant payroll is an important aspect of fighting corruption and ensuring accountability.
This fight, according to him, was recently demonstrated through a recent action by the President to withdraw the nomination of former House Speaker Alex Tyler from the Board of Arcelor Mittal Operating Company.
Tyler is now one of President Weah’s closed allied who supported his presidential bid.
However, Toby believes, withdrawing the nomination of Tyler illustrates the CDC government preparedness to ensure that the fight against corruption.
“The president will not take corruption issues for granted and he has withdrawn the nomination of Alex Tyler, which is geared at saving his face from things associated with corruption,” Toby averred.
He said President Weah is also in readiness to take a strong stance on those enlisted by the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission for financial discrepancy carried out in past administration.
“Those whose names are booked for ‘act of corrupt’ will not go with impunity, but will face justice,” he said.
In a related development, the Presidential Press Office has revealed the distribution of drug donated to government by the team of medical experts who recent visited Liberia.
The distribution according to Toby is being carried out through the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to various government medical facilities across Liberia.
There have been reports about shortage of drugs at various government medical facilities, which has reportedly affected health services in the country.